<p>Hey, I'm a rising undergrad freshman and I will likely be attending Columbia. </p>
<p>I have relatives who went to Columbia, and although they testify that the school offers a great education, it is a relatively boring and dull school. </p>
<p>This kinda worries me, can anyone tell me what the social life and general fun-ness of the school is like? I understand that NYC is a fun place in general, but what is Columbia like?</p>
<p>Also, do big musical artists come to the school? I toured UPenn and they mentioned that many large artists, including some of my favorites, perform shows at the school.</p>
<p>I find Columbia plenty fun, but I would recommend you come and see for yourself and evaluate it based on your perception of "fun"ness rather than anyone else’s. What I have heard from people (and I think my limited experience reflects this) is that social life is more decentralized than at other schools, but that can be a good or bad thing depending on who you are.</p>
<p>We have big musical artists sometimes at Bacchanal, but really - it’s New York. Don’t wait for them to come to the UWS, take the 1 for 15 minutes and go to them.</p>
<p>I actually have visited, and I really felt that Columbia was the right place for me. I felt like it was a fun and exciting school, but reviews I have heard from family members have been pretty bleak. </p>
<p>Also do you think you could explain what you mean by ‘more decentralized’? Are you saying that there isn’t a lot of school spirit? haha</p>
<p>Different people have different definitions for fun. Columbia makes an effort to admit different people. </p>
<p>You will have people who plays chess and attend hackathons for fun, and you will also have people going out and going to parties for fun; and anything in between. It all depends on your crowd and interests. </p>
<p>As a whole, no we are not a state school by any standard. Our school spirit is a strong as our football team’s winning streak. Part of it is because New York is a beautiful distraction.</p>
<p>In terms of decentralization - there are very few events that the entire campus gets worked up about. (I guess Bacchanal but I’m a freshman so I’ll bow out on that one.) There are, however, tons of events literally every day that moderately large groups of people go to. This is in contrast to what I’ve heard from my friends at other schools where there are regularly large events that nearly everyone goes to. There also isn’t just one spot where people go to have fun - there are bars, frat houses, suites, etc. Again, a contrast to some other places where it seems like everyone just goes to frat row to party? (Generalization.)</p>
<p>Our school spirit pretty much begins and ends with everyone knowing the fight song, though that’s an improvement over my high school. School pride, on the other hand, I would say is decently high.</p>
<p>i spent my summer this year at Columbia doing summer program, and it was AMAZING</p>
<p>plus, why u start worrying about fun at columbia? first of all the school itself surely is great, and second, even if u dont have that much fun on campus, man there is NYC out there all u need is walk out =)</p>
<p>Columbia is a place full of diverse niches. Between classes, studying, and hangouts with your “group,” you’ll never run out of stuff on your to-do-list.</p>
<p>If you’re more of a solitary person, NYC is a great place to explore. There’s a lot to see in this place.</p>